Sunday, 13 July 2014

The oldest spawn called last night. In the course of the conversation she let
it drop that she was getting 200 bales of hay today. How was she doing that, I
asked, with just herself,two lazy pre-teen children, and a disabled husband. "We
can do it," she said.

Right. In a pigs ass. So I volunteered. The farmer wanted us to come at noon.
We got there at noon. He hadn't even started baling. He didn't start baling
until 1:30 and then it was start and stop several times as bale weight, size and
tension was adjusted. Then, finally, we were on our way.

Acea drove the truck and trailer, I tossed the bales onto the trailer for
Christina and nearly useless children.

It was only when I barked that pre-teens started to use some muscle too.

We have the first 125 bales off the field now. We were loading right behind
the baler. He will be ahead of us now. The first 125 bales are on the way to the
farm where Christina and a neighbor will unload them while Acea loads up on pain
medication.

We will get another 75 bales after dinner. Farmer wants them gone today and
we are using his trailer so we will have to do it. Farmer and helper say they
will help load the last 75. Good. I will drive and Chris and the hay farmers can
load. Acea can stay home with his pain meds and try to recover.

It is a good thing the heat moderated a bit today. As it is this damned near
killed me. I am not a young pup any more. I haven't hayed since when I was 16.
Back then it was the only way to make any money in small town Maine.

Come summer I would hay for dairy farmer Brewer Andrews for 50 cents an hour.
Hot, dirty, backbreaking labor suited for dumb teen aged boys. Mrs. Andrews
would meet us as we brought each load in from the fields with snacks and cold
drinks. When the day was done Brewer would drive us to the lake in an old farm
truck. We would jump in clothes and all and work the chaff out. Then he'd drive
us home.

Chris bought me a cold drink and a pepperoni stick. A snack. I didn't even
get 50 cents an hour.

Matthew 7:1 is the verse most taken out of context in the entire Bible and is
most often used as a bludgeon to beat people, usually Christians, who are making
value judgements. It is nearly always made to say that which it does not
say.

Matthew 7:1 (NKJV) "Judge not, that you be not
judged.

The biggest problem is that this verse does not stand alone. It is one
sentence in a larger treatise that run from verses 1 to 8.

If we accept Matthew 7:1 to be a stand alone command to never judge what are
we to do with what Jesus says in John 7:24 "Judge not according to
appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

Which is it? Judge or not judge? What did Jesus mean in Matthew 7:1?

Theologian Dr. John MacArthur addresses this is a talk titled Stop
Criticizing.He says, "Now, that sounds so simplistic. Don't judge. And
you hear people throw that around. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." I've heard
that. "Who are you to judge?"

Now, there are many people who've misunderstood this. Tolstoy, for
example, the Russian novelist, said, "Christ here totally forbids the human
institution of any law courts." Now, that is a gross misunderstanding of this.
But there are other people who equally misunderstand it, only with another
aberration. They say, "We should never criticize. We should never condemn
anybody for anything. We should never evaluate anything at all. We don't want to
judge, lest we should be judged."

And that phrase sort of fits our time, I think. Because we live in an age
when the wrong use of "judge not" would find a ready audience. Our time hates
theology. Our time hates dogma. Our time resists doctrine. Our time doesn't like
convictions. People speak about love, and they speak about compromise. They
speak about ecumenism. They speak about unity, anything to get everybody
together. And somebody who talks about doctrine or dogma or convictions is
generally unpopular in many circles."

...

"And so some people have taken "judge not" and just fit it into the
mentality of the time. But the Lord is not condemning law courts. I mean, the
Bible instituted that. The principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth is based upon a law court, and Romans 13 affirms the right for a nation to
rule its people. And the Bible is not condemning any kind of judging or
discriminating. The Bible tells us, as believers, that we must discern. Right?
That we must know the truth from the falsehood."

...

"Look at verse 15. "Beware of false prophets who come in sheep's
clothing." Now, if you only perceive things superficially, you'll see the
sheep's clothing and never know the wolf that's under there. There must be
discernment. There must be judging, or we don't know the false prophets. We
don't know the dogs. We don't know the swine that we're to avoid.

So in the very passage itself we are told to test, discriminate, evaluate
between the true and the false. We have law courts to do that. The church, for
example, in the same Gospel of Matthew, is told to confront a sinning brother in
chapter 18, and to confront that brother boldly, forthrightly about his
sinfulness, and to make it a matter of public knowledge if he doesn't repent. So
we are not flabby and soft in obedience to Scripture. Scripture calls us to
discern."

...

"So if you want an easy translation of what it says in verse 1, it says,
"Stop criticizing." Stop criticizing. Who are you to criticize other people?
That's the issue. We must judge. We must evaluate. Romans 16:17 says, "We must
mark them that cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which we've
learned and avoid them." We must make doctrinal distinctions, and we must mark
the people who offend that doctrine, and we must avoid those people. We can't
all get together. We must make distinctions. And that judgment must begin, says,
Peter, at the house of God. We have a right to judge righteous judgment. John
7:24. But not the carping criticism of the Pharisees. And that is essentially
what He's saying."

Please see the entire piece HERE to see
what Dr. MacArthur has to say and to find out what the verse means in
context.

How many of you have said something like, "The Muslims don't know God" or
"The Jews are apostates" or "Homosexuality is a sin", and had someone respond,
"Judge not, that you be not judged"? This verse is probably quoted more by
people who don't know Christ or the Bible than any other passage in all of
Scripture:

Matthew 7:1 (NKJV) "Judge not, that you be not
judged.

Many people have misunderstood Jesus' admonition concerning judging. When
Jesus says that we are not to judge, many people have interpreted that to mean
that we are not to engage in any form of analysis or evaluation of others. In
other words, this line of thinking says that we cannot conclude that a person's
behavior or lifestyle is wrong, and that they are consequently wrong for
engaging in it. Those who would like to justify all manner of evil use this
verse to chasten anyone who would take a stand for righteousness.

This verse is also misused when referring to other people's religious
beliefs. Some people seem to say that we must sacrifice our ability to
discriminate in decision making. Such a position would require that we exercise
no discernment. There is a sense in which we are not to judge people, but we
will see in this study that there is a sense in which we, as believers, are
required to judge others.

What do we say to someone who says they believe that they are going to
heaven, but they don't believe that Jesus Christ is God? Do we say, "It doesn't
matter what god you believe in"? No, the only loving thing to tell them is that
they are on their way to hell:

1 John 2:22-23 (NKJV) Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is
the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever
denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has
the Father also.

We live in an age where there is an emphasis on tolerance and acceptance.
Now, there is nothing wrong with tolerance and acceptance. They are indeed good
qualities. But what many mean by them is that we should accept any belief, any
lifestyle, any act, without careful, critical evaluation. We see this type of
thinking reach its pinnacle in the idea of politically correct speech. Is this
what Jesus is talking about?

I think not! This is a misunderstanding of what Jesus was speaking of. We
know this because of what the Scriptures say in so many other places. In fact,
in the sixth verse of this chapter, Jesus calls us to evaluate the kind of
people with whom we are dealing as we seek to share His truth. Later, in this
same chapter, Jesus says:

Matthew 7:15-16 (NKJV) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them
by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from
thistles?

Obviously, we must engage in a fruit evaluation if we are going to
determine who is a true or false prophet. So, we are called upon to make a
judgment about individuals and behaviors. Many other passages also indicate
this.

Christians have a God-given responsibility to make judgments. You are
called to judge whether or not what you hear is truth or heresy:

1 John 4:1-2 (NKJV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of
God,

Curtis then goes into an in depth discussion of the various meanings on the
word judge before exegeting the proper meaning of the text which is not about
not judging but the proper way to judge which is clear from the immediately
following verses.

He sums it up by saying, "It is important to see what Christ has not said
in Matthew 7. He has not said we should not be discerning. Christians, of all
people, are to be discerning. In fact, they are the only ones who can truly be
discerning. What Christ is saying in Matthew 7 is that we are not to have a
self-righteous, judgmental attitude; we are not to judge the motives of others;
and we are not to judge hypocritically."

This verse is quoted a lot, usually for one of two reasons, both wrong.
The first is, admittedly, noble: It’s for the sake of tolerance and acceptance.
When people behave in a way that offends you personally—either sinfully, such as
cheating one another, or in a way that offends your sensibilities, such as more
wasteful than you’d like—“Judge not” is meant to remind you that we’re all equal
in the eyes of God: You’re no better; you sin just as much; you’re likely just
as ignorant of your misbehavior as these poor souls; you need to love them for
Jesus’s sake, despite their flaws.

The second is to get out of trouble: “Hey man, don’t judge me. ‘Judge
not,’ right?”

I think we can set aside those people who quote “Judge not” in order to
continue living the lifestyles they know they shouldn’t. Clearly they’re using
the scriptures as a loophole. But using “Judge not” as an appeal for
open-mindedness and understanding: That’s a valid concern. Christians should be
open-minded and understanding. It’s part and parcel of a lifestyle of
forgiveness.

The context.

Still, let’s make sure we understand the scripture correctly. The whole
teaching goes like this. (I lined it up as poetry because, well, it is poetry.
That was Jesus’s intent in phrasing it this way.)

Judge not,

that you be not judged.

For with the judgment you pronounce

you will be judged,

and with the measure you use

it will be measured to you.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye,

but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother,

“Let me take the speck out of your eye,”

when there is the log in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,

and then you will see clearly

to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

—Jesus, Matthew 7.1-5 ESV

The point of this passage, as I’ve discussed, is to teach Christians to
not live by double standards. When we tell someone, “You sinner; you know better
than to steal,” we ought not be thieves ourselves—we ought not be hypocrites,
pretending to not be thieves; or pretending that we’ve never, ever stolen in our
lives; or objecting to people stealing money while we ourselves rob our
employers of time; or objecting to people stealing large items while we only
pilfer small ones.

Hence the example of the person with the log in the eye, offering to help
the person with the speck. Jesus exaggerates, but you get the idea: If we have
the same problem, we’re no help. We need to overcome the problem, then help. And
then, though Jesus doesn’t say so here, we can actually be a more valuable help
than someone who can’t relate. When members of Alcoholics Anonymous or Celebrate
Recovery get “sponsors” to mentor them, these sponsors have struggled with
addiction too, but have been successful at resisting temptation, and that’s what
makes them valuable resources. A person who lapses frequently would be a rotten
sponsor; such people still need sponsoring themselves.

Where “Judge not” comes in is that, as before, we’re equal in the eyes of
God. You’re a sinner; I’m a sinner; you’re trying to stop sinning; so am I. If I
judge you, I judge myself as well, for I must be held to the same standard.
There’s not a different standard for the Christian and the pagan, just as there
wasn’t a different law for the Hebrew and the Gentile. (Nu 15.15) There’s not a
different standard for the rich and poor, (Lv 19.15) simply because one is more
pitiable, or the other can afford to get away with it. There’s not a different
standard for children and adults, young and old, women and men, wise and
foolish, smarter and denser, anyone. We’re all judged alike.

Commanded to judge.

Everyone judges. The word “judge,” either our English word or the
Greek word kríno, means to decide between one thing or another. Everyone does
that. You decided to read this post instead of the stuff your friends stuck on
Facebook. (You might have chosen it second, but still.)

And from time to time we’re expected to judge. Jesus orders us Christians
to judge matters among ourselves, rather than take one another to court. (Lk
12.57-59) He tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right
judgment.” (Jn 7.24 ESV) James judged, on behalf of the early church, to not
obligate Gentile Christians to obey the Law before they could turn to Jesus. (Ac
15.19) Paul judged, in absentia, a Corinthian who was sleeping with his
stepmother, and rebuked Corinth for not doing so themselves, writing, “It isn’t
my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to
judge those inside the church who are sinning.” (1Co 5.12 NLT) He further
wrote:

When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a
lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to
other believers! Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the
world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these
little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So
you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have
legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not
respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in
all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one
believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers!

—Paul, 1 Corinthians 6.1-6 NLT

If all we follow is “Judge not,” we would be violating each of these
other scriptures that tell us we need to judge—we need to choose between right
and wrong. Not among pagans, as Paul pointed out; (1Co 5.12) not till the End,
(1Co 4.5) for not even Jesus intends to judge anyone till the End. (Jn 12.47-48)
But when there are disagreements between fellow Christians? Judge away. Just
remember: We are judged by the very same standard.

As for pagans, they don’t need judgment. They need grace. They need to be
won over by experiencing the generosity and forgiveness of God. They already
know they’re in the wrong with God. They don’t need to hear any more of that.
What they need is to hear that Jesus took care of their sins, and offers them a
restored relationship with God. They need to experience Christians’ kindness.
Not our judgment.

That is the meaning of Matthew 7:1. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That
has been the teaching of all churches throught time.